


Awoken

by Angelicat2



Series: Wings [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Age Difference, Allura pov, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Wings, During Canon, M/M, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates, Season/Series 01, Season/Series 02, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Wings, slight allurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 19:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13465014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: Allura finds out the paladins' wings are very important. Shiro and Keith get their wings back.The wings were rapidly gaining color, both the same. A vibrant scarlet floated around them as a dark green, yellow, and blue splashed onto the wings. Shifting into a more interesting shape, deep violet soon joined the mix as well as a few spots of white that littered the wings in the shape of comets and stars. Allura couldn’t hold back her gasp of surprise as the light died down.The wings looked just like space.





	Awoken

Allura woke to five strange beings in her castle.

When she saw that it had been 10,000 years, she nearly cried. It couldn’t have been that long. Her father and Altea were gone, blow to cosmic dust. All she had left of her home was the castle, Coran, four little mice, and five lions. Except said lions were stretched across the universe. The Black Lion was in its hangar, the blue one had brought the aliens, and the others were somewhere else. And don’t even get her started on who would pilot th-

She glanced at the five before her. Each were interesting as she couldn’t remember a species that had “wings” like theirs. She had visited a planet once with aliens who had the same wings, but not made from, whatever these were. Also, they had all been one color. Each “human”, as they named themselves, had different colors on their wings.

The smallest would pilot the Green Lion. He seemed like a smart soul, capable of being the Green Paladin. His wings were colored like plants and soil, with a hint of snow. They were a little bit longer than the boy was tall, but Allura somehow knew they weren’t finished growing yet. They seemed to be made for stealthy flight even with the vibrant colors.

The largest would pilot the Yellow Lion. His wings looked more like armor, heavy and thick enough to protect him from almost anything. The golden and blue threads of the same material as all the wings looked almost like rock patterns. They were the biggest wings out of the group, but they stretched to only about one and a half of his height. The wings looked like they were made to keep him in the air regardless of any hits.

The one who had caught her was obviously already chosen by the Blue Lion itself. His wings were just short of the previous one mentioned, and were much the same color. Except his looked more like the ocean, and Allura was reminded of Altea. His wings looked ready to let him fly steady and were more for style than practical flight. She wouldn’t have minded his attraction to her, if he wouldn’t flirt and act like she couldn’t save herself. She already knew people like that since she had been to a few planets around the galaxy. She could handle it.

The tallest one and the one who had informed her that Zarkon was, in fact, alive would pilot the Black Lion. They had to get all the other lions to get it out of the locked hangar, but she knew they’d do it. They had to. His wings were nearly twice his height, but not as thick as the Yellow Paladin’s were. They reminded her more of the Black Lion’s wings except that they were the color of Black’s paint. No white nor other color could be seen. Just pure, endless ebony.

And the last one standing to the side with crossed arms would be the pilot of the Red Lion. The pilot of said lion would have to be instinctive and strong-willed, as she remembered her father saying about his lion. The Red Lion was the most tempermental of the five. He’d have to earn the lion’s respect. The boy’s wings-

She raised a thin brow. He didn’t have wings. Allura had assumed that it was a species specific thing. Perhaps she was wrong, but before she could think about it further, the alarm blared to life as scarlet light flooded the room. The Galra had found them.

\-----

Allura noticed. Allura noticed a lot of strange things. The fact that the paladins were less experienced than an Altean child when it came to training, but were really good with other things like computers, cooking, coming up with ideas, and so on. She knew something was wrong with Pidge, his training an obvious sign of inner struggle as seen with the mindsets. She understood that Lance was pretty homesick, just like she herself was. Hunk was anxious about this whole situation. Shiro was having issues with his year in Galran captivity. Keith was always gloomy and crossing his arms. None of them were connecting that well to the lions, but that would come with time.

She scrubbed food goo from her hair. She hadn’t missed the glances exchanged between Shiro and Keith when the group had been laughing, nor did she miss the subtle, heartbroken gazes Shiro used while staring at Keith when he didn’t think anyone else was looking. She was beginning to think that something bad had happened to the Red Paladin before they had left their own planet. Maybe that is why he had no wings.

Pidge had explained, with Lance adding a few details, of what the wings meant. That soulmates wings changed colors when they met, and they had romantic and platonic mates. Allura knew she had no clue yet with even the stuff they told her, but she never brought it up to Keith. She didn’t want to bring up any issues with him. It was clear that life without said wings deeply affected the boy as it was. She wouldn’t appreciate if someone mentioned her father and her planet’s deaths, how could she demand to know something from them like that?

Simple answer, she couldn’t.

\-----

The next night, at the feast with the Arusians, she had been about to speak with one of the natives when she glanced to the side. There stood Keith and Shiro next to each other like they often did. Their backs were to her, and she felt her hand move to her mouth in surprise. Shiro didn’t have his wings anymore. The back of the paladin armor was closed, no room for the man’s large wings. When had...but that would mean-

“You see them too?” Coran asked calmly from her right as he gazed at the two who were chatting quietly, “Nothing bad happened.”

“But…” she paused as she remembered that the wings were very important to the humans. Why would-

“He asked to have them removed,” her second-father figure stared sadly at the two, “Wouldn’t state why, just that he had to get them removed.”

They stared at the two for a full minute. Coran took a deep drink of nunvil before he turned back to her with a knowing expression that Allura had only seen once. When he had been talking about Zarkon and his wife, Honerva.

“But now I think I understand why,” he handed her one of the cups of purple juice, “After all, some are willing to give the universe to those they care about most.”

With that, he walked away.

\-----

Allura was just walking into the living room where all the sunken couches were to check on her paladins when she heard a strange noise. Barely into the room, she paused quietly as she took in the situation while preparing for the worst. Ready to attack if needed, she stared when she saw what was going on.

Pidge and Hunk were in the corner of the room, near one of the white walls. They were staring up with worried expressions, and the mice sat along the youngest’s shoulder. Allura could hear the four creatures’ anxious cries in her mind as they looked up in the same direction. Shiro stood to the other side of the room, but nearer to the couches. His arms were crossed, and if not for her knowledge on others’ body languages and expressions from her short experience as a diplomat, she’d have assumed he was just bored and watching like any leader would. His slate eyes were pinned on Keith, never leaving as if making sure he was okay. Feet to his front, Keith stood with his own arms crossed defensively, his glare looking to the side instead of upward like the others. Wondering what could have happened to the group, she only needed to look up.

Lance was floating on the air about three times his height, his sandy and water-colored wings flapping. The wind created from them caused his short, brown hair to flutter just the tiniest bit. He had a frown on his face as his dark, blue eyes stared down at Keith.

What had happened?

About to ask just that question, she opened her mouth when Lance spoke.

“What do you know?” He demanded as he waved an arm around, “You’re just a drop-out anyway.”

“Lance-” Shiro spoke up carefully as his gaze still didn’t leave Keith’s stiff form.

“No, why is it Keith is always who you pay attention to?” He demanded, and Allura knew he was definitely getting into a sensitive area if the even more stiff posture of Keith’s was any indication, “It’s not fair on the team. You always take it easy on him. Why are you so attached to each other? It’s not like you’re soulmates anyway.”

Keith grew paler by the second until Allura thought he was going to pass out. His breath came out quicker as he started to tremble a little. From where she stood, she could see the far away look in his eyes. Shiro seemed to notice just a step ahead of her as he stood in front of the younger man. Not trying to touch him, he called out.

“Keith, Keith, it’s me, Shiro,” he stated calmly, and she realized that he was having a flashback, “Come on, Keith. It’s not real. You’re in space. You’re a Paladin of Voltron. Breathe. Breathe with me. Come on, buddy.”

Keith didn’t seem much more aware of what was happening around him than doboshes before, but he did follow Shiro’s breaths. In and out they both breathed even well after Keith’s matched the older human’s. Slowly, light filtered back into his eyes as he sagged forward exhaustedly. Barely catching him before he completely fell, Shiro gently held him by his upper arms.

“S-Shiro?”

“Yeah,” said man nodded encouragingly as his eyes bore on Keith’s back over the black strands of hair, “It’s me. I’m here. I’m here.”

Keith blinked as he glanced around the room. The others were staring back at them with various faces of worry, confusion, and slight guilt. Lance had settled on the floor, his wings frozen without movement. The Red Paladin stared from them back to Shiro for a tick before pushing away from Shiro.

“I...um…” He refused to look at anyone, “I’m sorry...I...I’m going to go train.”

He rushed for the door, and Allura gave him a sympathetic expression as he went by her. He didn’t pause nor act like he had heard or seen anything as he trudged away, but the Altean knew she saw tears glisten on his lashes as he tore away through the hall.

“Keith!” Lance called, too late to have any effect on the one called to. 

“Not now, Lance,” Shiro stated tightly as his robotic arm clenched in a way Allura had rarely seen before. 

“But-” 

“Not now!” Shiro nearly screamed before he sighed with guilt as he stared at his right hand, “I’m sorry, Lance. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, but you shouldn’t have said that to Keith. I’m going to go find him.”

And just like Keith, he disappeared down the long hallway.

“I didn’t mean it like-”

“We know,” Pidge spoke up as she petted Platt’s head slowly, “But that was still mean.”

“Yeah, dude,” Hunk’s face turned sad for a second before it shifted back, “You wouldn’t like it if someone mentioned how you don’t have a romantic soulmate.”

“I...” he paused as his eyes looked to the floor, “You’re right. I know I’ve been mean to Keith, and I guess I’ve just been jealous. I always get compared to the guy, and he’s always been this person who has been great at everything and I...I should apologize.”

“That would be strongly advised,” Allura stated for the first time in the last ten doboshes as they glanced at her, Lance’s face going even more sad, “You are a team, and as such, it would be wise to say you’re sorry. You paladins are a family. I’ve come to consider you guys part of my family, and I hope to see that we all feel the same way.”

“Of course we feel that way,” Lance spoke as he gave her a small grin, “We all love each other...I guess, me and Keith are like siblings who argue a lot. I mean, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be nice to him all the time, but I’ll try.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Allura sent him a smile back, and his became more heartwarming, “Sometimes we may not get along, but we just have to get to know each other better. The rest will come in time, I believe.”

“Let’s go get some food,” Pidge stated with a small smile as she started for the door to the kitchen. The other two gave her raised brows before agreeing.

“Yeah, I’ll make something tasty.”

“I could use some food.”

Before they could completely leave, Allura joined them. Getting a little bit of a flirting from Lance, she rolled her eyes as she walked with them. At least he was back to normal. She needed to eat, too, and she had decided that she could hang out with them more often.

\-----

Allura picked up one of the cups on the nearest table. Glancing down at the liquid, she saw that it was not nunvil. This drink was an off azure color, just a shade darker than Lance’s armor. Taking a sip, she hummed in surprise. It tasted pretty good, a little tart, but mostly sweet. Something about the drink reminded her of Altea, but she couldn’t place what.

“It kind of tastes like...lemonade?” Hunk stated from her left as Pidge and Lance tried some too, “Maybe with raspberries?”

“I guess,” Lance raised an eyebrow as he stared at the liquid, “Kinda tastes more like something from home, you know?”

“Oh, yeah,” Hunk replied as he took another sip, “It does taste like my mom’s homemade pitcher of lemonade.”

“Mine tastes more like apple cider,” Pidge concluded as she squinted her eyes, “Maybe these drinks somehow taste like something that comforts us. What can’t the Olkari do?”

“Yes,” Ryner walked up beside her with a proud shine to her eyes, “These drinks are made to comfort. We have made it so each is different because everyone is comforted by different things. Some of us like more natural tastes found in nature and others like more artificial flavors.”

“That’s amazing,” Pidge stated with wide eyes and a big smile, “On Earth, we have nothing like this!”

“On Earth?” The alien asked curiously as she took a drink, “Is that your planet?”

“Yeah, you see,” Allura smiled softly as she moved away from the table. She knew that they would have fun where they were, but she wanted to see what else was going on. When they had agreed to a party with the Olkari that night, they had decided that it would be a mix of Earth, Altean, and Olkarion traditions. The Olkari had provided the drinks and Hunk had helped create the delicious meals alongside some of them. Some decorations had came from the castle’s storage. Just little things like cloth for the tables, and some hovering plates that they had used with the Arusians. The Earth part of the party had a wide dance floor, and with the help of the tech wizards, Pidge had hooked up a music system that played all three aliens’ music.

Getting lost in the rhythm of the Earth song on the speakers, she glanced to the far edge of the floor to see Shiro and Keith. It was hard to see them through the thick crowd in the middle, the other three paladins and Coran were now dancing, but she gazed at them. The two stood in front of each other, gently swaying to the music. Both of their eyes were on each other and nowhere else, and if Allura had to guess, she’d say they were only seeing each other. Even from this distance, she could see the small, grateful curve of the younger man’s lips as the other man held him close. Deciding that she was prying on a delicate, very private moment, her eyes wandered back to the other teens. Strolling forward, she joined just as the music shifted to a love song from Altea. It wasn’t as slow as the last one, but this had more of a hypnotic beat. The young princess remembered a time when her father had played that song. Those had been much better times, no real need for Voltron, at least, not like it was now. 

“Hey, princess,” the Blue Paladin held out a hand, “Care to dance? I’m sure with this music, you’ll fall in love with me for sure.”

She wasn’t sure whether to ignore him or actually dance with him. On one hand, he would not stop flirting with her. On the other hand, he was genuine with his offer, most likely just wanting to dance with her. Letting herself “go with the flow,” she accepted with a small smile and serious expression. Led to the middle of the dance floor, she started to silently teach Lance one of her home planet’s simple dances. Feeling proud of him, she noticed that he was a quick learner, hardly mis-stepping or only needing guidance a few times. The whole time, he was concentrating on the task, and she knew he really did want to learn this. A dobosh later, the music came to a stop as it faded into the next song.

“Well done, Lance,” she complimented, and almost laughed when his cheeks turned bright pink, “You did great.”

“Only because you were showing me,” he continued to blush as she felt herself relax a little more, “Thanks, Allura.”

Her respect for him grew a little more. Nodding as she got ready for another dance, she felt a sudden shift in the air. Wondering what was going on, she didn’t need to wait long.

The room lit up with a bright white light. Shielding her eyes from the glow that was intensifying by the tick, she finally dropped her arms and searched for the source. Already guessing where it could have come from, she was not surprised when she saw it was surrounding her two oldest paladins. What did shock her, however, were the pairs of wings created from the pretty light.

The wings were rapidly gaining color, both the same. A vibrant scarlet floated around them as a dark green, yellow, and blue splashed onto the wings. Shifting into a more interesting shape, deep violet soon joined the mix as well as a few spots of white that littered the wings in the shape of comets and stars. Allura couldn’t hold back her gasp of surprise as the light died down.

The wings looked just like space.

Everyone was in shock, but none more so than the two it was happening to. Eyes wide, they both stared over each other’s backs, frozen with awe. A few ticks went by as the silence stretched on before Keith launched himself at Shiro. Without a moment of hesitation, the larger man wrapped him in a hug, chin on an ebony-haired head. They both started to laugh, and Allura could hear the wobble in their voices from where she was. 

Looking at Keith’s wings, she was amazed to see that they were no larger than his arm length, much smaller than Shiro’s were. They were obviously made for quick flying and agility, and she smiled. He had been a great fit for the Red Lion, much like the machine itself. Moving to the side, she joined the group at the far edge of the room.

“What the-” Lance didn’t finish as he looked just as stunned as the time he found out the castle was a ship and Pidge was a girl, “What just happened?”

“I don’t know,” Hunk answered as he stared at them with a wondering look, “But whatever just happened was…”

“Amazing!” Pidge exclaimed with a shout as she waved her arms around, “This is something new! We know that platonic soulmates exist and so do romantic ones. But no has ever had the same exact wing color, much less so vivid!”

“That’s because we’re romantic soulmates,” Allura nearly jumped as Shiro stood behind her with Keith at his side, “But the same color deal, we’re not sure about.”

“Um…” Keith hesitated as he bit his lip while staring at the Black Paladin before speaking ticks later, “Yeah.”

“We’ll figure it out sometime,” Allura spoke as she gave them a heartfelt smile, “You just enjoy the party. We’re leaving the Olkari in the morning.”

“Yes, princess,” Shiro laughed softly as his right wing poked Keith’s face, and said boy just rolled his eyes yet smirked, “Well, you heard her, time to enjoy ourselves.”

“Yes, sir,” he smirked once again as the others stared in confusion.

“Oh, and remember-” Shiro looked at the youngest three who interrupted him at the same time.

“Yes, we know,” they nearly rolled their eyes, “Don’t stay up too late.”

The two with their new wings stared at each other once again, Shiro’s brows raised while Keith stayed completely still. Moments later, Shiro frowned in a mock, hurt way.

“I’m not _that_ old,” he threw his wings out in a dramatic way that Allura knew none of them had ever seen before; except for Keith as he didn’t even look at the man, “I am no one’s ‘space dad,’ and I’m barely older than you guys!”

“You know-”

“Nope,” Lance interrupted as he waved his hands in a ‘x’ shape, “Nope, no, no, no...There are children here,” Pidge glared as he put his hands over her ears, “And those children don’t need to hear whatever was going to come out of your mouth.”

“First of all,” Pidge shoved his hands away from her, “I’m barely younger than you are. Second, I’ve heard this stuff before, Matt is my brother, and he is _way_ worse than that. And last, I’m going to talk with Ryner more. Bye!”

She raced away towards the exit. The other two glanced from the two older paladins to the door to each other before nodding their heads and shouting at the same time.

“I’m going to get more food.”

“I’m going to go chat with the ladies.”

Both blended themselves into the crowd of newly-freed Olkarions. Sighing with exasperation, she looked back at the other two who both looked confused at what had happened. Standing with both hands in front of her, she smiled softly.

“Congratulations,” she spoke to both who gave her smiles after glancing at each other, “I’m glad to see you two are happy.”

“Thanks, princess,” Keith stated with a soft smile in return as Shiro sent her a similar response. Letting them go, she carefully grabbed a cup from the floating tray as they left the room. She smiled inwardly as she took a sip. She had no doubt that this would make the team stronger, and she was truly happy for them. They finally got back what the universe had torn away from them.

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't the last story in the series. I have more planned, so prepare for the angst and fluff.
> 
> As always, you can find me on Tumblr at **iamstuckinfandom**


End file.
